Also called Beaudous and Carduino, Sir
Guinglain was Sir Gawain's eldest son by
a fairy named Blanchemal. The lady raised her son in ignorance of his
heritage; so when he appeared at the Court of King Arthur, he became known
as Le Bel Inconnu - the “Fair Unknown”. Arthur sent him on a
quest to restore the city of Snowdon (possibly Caernarfon) for Esmeree the
Blonde, the Queen of Wales, after it had been laid waste by a pair of
sorcerers.

The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting messengeress,
named Helie, was disgusted to be returning home with such an inexperienced
youth as her champion. However, the Unknown Knight soon changed her mind
about him when he was triumphant in a number of adventures en route. He
overcame the arrogant Sir Bleoberis;
he rescued the Lady Clarie from a pair of giants; he defeated three
attackers and won a sparrowhawk tournament. Defeating the Guardian of the
Golden Isle, he fell in love with his fairy mistress, the Maiden with the
White Hands. The two wished to marry, but the knight with no name was
obliged to sneak away to complete his quest. Arriving at Snowdon, the two
sorcerers were soon defeated, but Sir Guinglain had to overcome natural
revulsion and kiss the snake into which the Queen had been transformed.
The wicked spell was thus broken and the Esmeree returned. She wished to
marry her saviour, but he hurried back to the Maiden with the White Hands
instead. She reluctantly accepted him back and revealed his real name. But
Sir Guinglain could not resist the joust meetings and the fairy finally
jilted him when he went off to the tournament at Maiden’s Castle. He
eventually ended up with Queen Esmeree after all.

Sir Tristram
first came to the notice of his uncle, King Mark
of Cornwall, whilst jousting with Sir Guinglain at Tintagel. Guinglain’s
horse was killed from under him and Mark replaced it in order to discover
his opponent’s identity. Guinglain became a Knight
of the Round Table and, with
his brothers, Sirs Florence and Lovell, helped in the attempt in entrap Sir
Lancelot and Queen Guinevere in
flagrante delicto. Lancelot killed all three for their trouble.